FTB - Loft Building Regulations / Estate Agent Misadvertisement

HairyTofu

Hi all,

I am a first time buyer, looking to buy a 3 bedroom house. I did a lot of research on the area I wish to buy in and found out that ALOT of the properties in the area I am looking have loft conversions that have made their 2 bedroom homes into 3 bedroom homes. I'm not adverse to loft conversions and after doing research, I found that the only necessary requirement for a loft conversion to be sold and used as a bedroom is building regulations approval.

I found a house that I liked, 2 bedroom with a 3rd bedroom in the loft. It was marketed as a 3 bedroom terraced house, the floor plan included the loft as a bedroom as well as the advertisement which listed the property having a "very large bedroom within the loft conversion". Before viewing the property, I emailed the estate agent and asked specifically whether the property has building regulations approval on the loft, she stated, in writing that it did. So I proceeded to view the property and succeeded in making an offer that was accepted.

Now, 2 months later, after getting surveyor round and the searches back, there is absolutely no record anywhere of the loft having regulations approval. I do have home buyers insurance, which covers £1.5k of the costs. However, the costs so far have been approx £2k-£2.5k. My solicitor has advised that either 1. They get regularisation on the loft (which is time consuming and they may not even be able to get it) or 2. Get an indemnity policy out. However, option 2 still does not make the loft a legal, habitable space.

I have read around these forums and there seems to be quite a different opinion. It is my understanding that, where it is obvious building works have been done to a property, the estate agent should seek to ensure all permissions and regulations are in order before making claims. In this case, the bedroom should have building regulations approval and the EA should have made sure about this before 1. Listening it as a 3rd bedroom and 2. Confirming to interested parties that it does have building regulations approval when it doesn't.

I have read ALOT of case studies on this on the TPO website and in every single case of misrepresentation of a property where conversions or building works had been done and the estate agent incorrectly listed/gave incorrect information, they were fined and ordered to pay costs back to the buyer. Do you think I have a similar claim here? 

user1977

Have you clarified with the seller that there definitely aren't consents for the works (rather than merely relying on the searches)? Have you asked the EA why they told you it did have consents?

How old is the conversion? Is there anything objectively wrong with the works (i.e. is it obvious there would be significant additional items to be sorted in order to get retrospective consent)?

HairyTofu

user1977 said:

Have you clarified with the seller that there definitely aren't consents for the works (rather than merely relying on the searches)? Have you asked the EA why they told you it did have consents?

How old is the conversion? Is there anything objectively wrong with the works (i.e. is it obvious there would be significant additional items to be sorted in order to get retrospective consent)?

The seller has had the property for only a few years, they also bought it as a 3 bedroom property from the previous owner but apparently did not request building regulations certificate for the loft at the time. The previous seller did not give the current owner any documents related to the loft. 

Again, because the current owner has had the property for a few years and did not enquire about the loft, there is no way for us to work out the age of the loft exactly. However, historical images of the area have a Velux window appearing in the room circa 15 years ago, so it is okay to assume that is when the loft was constructed. 

The surveyor listed a few things that they believed would not allow the loft to pass building regs. These included  but not limited: 1. No fire alarms main linked throughout the house in case of fire. 2. No fire doors throughout the house, where these rooms lead out onto the landing where the loft staircase is. 3. No fire door leading up to or in the loft itself.   4. No enclosed walkthrough in case of fire where somebody could escape the loft in case of emergency. 

They could not confirm whether or not the ceiling joists had been strengthened as that is beyond the scope of a surveyor.

BarelySentientAI

Yes, but I think you should be careful how you are describing things.

There is no legal definition of a bedroom in relation to property sales.  There is no legal requirement (for an owner-occupier) in terms of what rooms can be used as a bedroom.  Your issue is with the compliance of the conversion from non-habitable to habitable space.

There are Ombudsman guidelines, which only apply to agents who are members of that scheme.  Do you know which scheme this agent is registered with?  Using TPOS guidelines and case studies is only useful if they are with TPOS rather than PRS.

I'm not sure what other opinions you have found around this forum - the TPOS guidelines (which are the ones we usually look at) say that in this instance the agent should know that a loft conversion needs building regs and make appropriate enquiries to confirm compliance or point out the lack of proof to buyers.  Their confirmation is clearly against this guidance.

If they did get regularisation, the problem would go away.  If there was an indemnity policy, and you were convinced there were no structural concerns with the conversion, that would effectively make the problem go away because you can use it how you like anyway and the policy protects you against enforcement.

Hoenir

Why does the Homebuyers insurance only cover £1.5k of the £2.5k run up, What's the other £1k been spent on. 

RHemmings

To me it looks as if you have a good case as you have experienced loss, and because you have evidence that you were misled (intentionally or unintentionally) in writing. You will also have noticed on TPOS's site that case studies sometimes result in small additional payments for inconvenience caused.

As I'm sure you're aware, you have to go through the EA's formal complaints procedure before approaching TPOS. This would be an opportunity for you to request that proper evidence is given that the loft conversion received building control approval as per their claim. As one possible resolution of the problem. The other being appropriate compensation for your monetary loss, and the inconvenience caused by their inaccurate description of the property. 

HairyTofu

BarelySentientAI said:

Yes, but I think you should be careful how you are describing things.

There is no legal definition of a bedroom in relation to property sales.  There is no legal requirement (for an owner-occupier) in terms of what rooms can be used as a bedroom.  Your issue is with the compliance of the conversion from non-habitable to habitable space.

There are Ombudsman guidelines, which only apply to agents who are members of that scheme.  Do you know which scheme this agent is registered with?  Using TPOS guidelines and case studies is only useful if they are with TPOS rather than PRS.

I'm not sure what other opinions you have found around this forum - the TPOS guidelines (which are the ones we usually look at) say that in this instance the agent should know that a loft conversion needs building regs and make appropriate enquiries to confirm compliance or point out the lack of proof to buyers.  Their confirmation is clearly against this guidance.

If they did get regularisation, the problem would go away.  If there was an indemnity policy, and you were convinced there were no structural concerns with the conversion, that would effectively make the problem go away because you can use it how you like anyway and the policy protects you against enforcement.

The estate agent is a member of the TPOS, which is why I have been using them as a reference point. My issue is that my lender will not approve this as a 3 bedroom house, given that there is no building regulations approval on the loft conversion and are therefore lowering the value to a 2 bedroom property. The seller is then refusing to budge on price.

HairyTofu

Hoenir said:

Why does the Homebuyers insurance only cover £1.5k of the £2.5k run up, What's the other £1k been spent on. 

1.5k is the policies maximum compensation amount.. as a FTB I was naïve to the costs of things. The survey alone (it is an old victorian house with extended work done, so L3 was necessary) was £750. The solicitor fees and searches have already come to £1300. I am just awaiting the final bill from solicitor, but I reckon it will be a few more hundred £s outstanding. I'm not claiming a massive amount from the EA, it would be less than £1k.